Cairns To Cape Tribulation

Before you leave tropical Cairns, take a 45 minute ferry ride out to a tropical island covered in lush rainforests and surrounded by some of the best snorkelling spots in Australia. Green Island is a stunning pint-size island located within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. As soon as you arrive, take a walk around the island to find a sheltered section of sand where you can base yourself for the day. Take your snorkel and explore the coral reefs directly out from the beach or hop on a glass bottom boat or semi submarine coral viewing tour to explore the reef without getting wet.

Back on land, cool down with a walk through the rainforest and then head to one of the island's restaurants or casual cafes for lunch. We recommend grabbing a takeaway burger from Canopy Grill or head to Lite Bites for a refreshing milkshake.

Stay overnight at the luxurious Green Island Resort or head back to the mainland at the end of the day.

If you’ve been gazing out the window at the fields of sugarcane on the Great Barrier Reef Drive and wondered how it’s grown and harvested then a stop at Sweet Farm is a must. This working farm offers guided tours through its fields of Australian origin cocoa and sugarcane fields and the best part, tastings of the final products! The farm was the first commercial manufacturer to make chocolate using cocoa grown in Australia. As a result, they have control over every part of the cocoa bean to chocolate making process. You’ll also get to check out a vanilla plantation and find out why it’s the most expensive spice on the planet.

Learn more about the oldest rainforest in the world at the Daintree Discovery Centre. There’s an aerial walkway that will take you through the forest canopy, reaching around 23m above ground, where you’ll be able to see for yourself the plants and animals that live at this height. You can then head back to ground to wind through the pathways on the rainforest floor. A handheld audio guide will provide fascinating information about this precious environment, including how the plants and animals of the Daintree have survived and evolved over millions of years.

The discovery centre is also one of the best places to see the endangered Cassowaries, a tall black and blue bird with a ‘casque’ or helmet on the top of its head.

After a hot day exploring Daintree National Park, you’ll be in dire need of one of the refreshing, home-made ice creams from Daintree Ice Cream Company. You’ll get to sample anything from coconut and passionfruit ice cream to wattle seed or black sapote. All their ice creams are made from fruit grown in their onsite orchard so flavours change depending on what’s in season. Make sure you order their famous sample cup to try four different flavours at once!

As well as making delicious ice cream, the company also works to rejuvenate and promote the survival of native fauna and local wildlife. They specialise in raising orphaned kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons which you might see hopping around the property and they have put aside land dedicated to growing native plants and trees.

Fringed with palm trees and pure white sand, Myall Beach is one of the most stunning beaches on Cape Tribulation with the added bonus of being extremely easy to access from the nearby township. You’ll want to spend a day here exploring the rock pools just off the beach which are exposed in low tide. At the southern end of the beach, you can follow a track to the local shop where you can grab a much needed ice cream. At the northern end of the beach, you’ll find a path that leads to the Cape Tribulation headland. Myall Creek mouth can be found not too far from the beach, however, it’s not recommended for swimming as salt water crocodiles are known to frequent the area.

Stay a night or two right on the beach at Cape Tribulation Camping. Even if you don’t stay the night, you have to stop at the onsite restaurant to sample one of their woodfired pizzas.